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Sony Smartwatch 2 Available From MobileFun for $170, Actually Pairs With All Android Phones

It’s pretty obvious after reading a variety of reviews that were published early this morning, that Samsung Galaxy Gear is off to a rocky start. Most early reviewers aren’t fond of its minimal battery life, lack of water resistance, limited app ecosystem, and Samsung’s decision to make it incompatible with anything outside of a Samsung phone. Our review will be up this week as well, so we’ll have our own personal thoughts to share on all of that (initial hands-on and overview). But in the mean time, we thought we’d point out another smartwatch offering from a major company who has actually been in the game for over a year. Yes, we’re talking about Sony’s new Smartwatch 2.

So why would you consider the Sony Smartwatch 2? Well, this is their second third stab at a smartwatch, so you would hope that they have learned a thing or two after the first couple of go-arounds. The watch works with any Android phone running Android 4.0 and above, unlike the Gear which is currently locked to the Note 3 and a couple of other Samsung phones. The Smartwatch 2 is water resistant (IP57), runs “hundreds” of apps that are available through Google Play (not Samsung’s store, like on the Gear), and has a battery that should get you 3-4 days of “normal” use or 7 days with “low usage.”

It doesn’t have a camera or a bunch of fancy colorways, but it is an option – and a semi-affordable one at that.

While we are still awaiting an official release to the U.S., plenty of phone and accessory importers/resellers in the U.S. are already selling the watch. MobileFun is one in particular who has the watch at a reasonable price of $170. Other resellers are pricing the watch well over $200. We aren’t sure what the retail price will be, but the original Sony Smartwatch sold in the U.S. for $150, so even at $170, you are likely paying a bit of a premium to get it early. Still, it’s no $299.

We’ll have one shortly, so if you are interested in the world of smartwatches, stay tuned and keep an eye out for our coverage.

I just got mine today and the ENTIRE reason I bought it, doesn’t work. EMAIL notifications (not Gmail, EMAIL)…Just says “email does not support this device”…It’s a Droid MAXX…What happened to supporting all Android 4.0 or better devices? WTF?

dave

Check out this app on google play. It does exchange mail and much more…
Augmented SmartWatch Pro App

mcdonsco

I did, but all it seemed to do is report what was working and what wasn’t (and showed exchange email isn’t working)…I did a refund on it since I only had 15 minutes to do a refund. Couldn’t find any way to get it to DO anything other than show what was/was not working?

EC

Hey does anybody know if the smart watch 2 is multipoint compatible? I need it to control media on one phone and manage notifications from another phone

MarkHammond

Open1,
Interested in knowing if your watch (or this one) can get wet at all? You know washing hands, some dishes etc.. Thanks

RaptorOO7

I noticed that SONY is very lite on specs for this smartwatch 2. No mention of storage, processor, what the OS is based on.

mcdonsco

Mine just shipped from Amazon for $199 / grrrr….

Anon

When it says water-resistant does that mean washing-your-hands water resistant or taking-a-shower-or-swim water resistant?

IcerC

You don’t want to wear it “while showering, shampooing, swimming or diving as they are not designed for these kinds of activities. In addition, the IP57 rating does not include salt water, chlorinated water, soap or other liquids with a chemical content.”

geocab

I simply don’t understand the appeal of these watches. Not an insult to you guys that do like them, just my opinion. I’ll save the $200-300 and pull my phone out of my pocket. What compels you guys that do want one of these? Convert me! Lol

Fresh360

I felt the EXACT same way about tablets, “Why would I need that? I will use my phone, or my laptop, or my desktop; this is a waste of money”. A Xoom, a Nexus 7, and a Nexus 7 2013 later; i have lost the right to ever condemn a product I never tried and maybe in a year or 2 you will too.

geocab

I can’t argue this, I also said that about tablets.

BroRob

I ride my road bike and this would be extremely helpful so I dont have to dig my phone out of a bag to see if it’s an emergency or something that is important enough for me to pull over and read/reply. I personally would love to see a heart rate monitor option as well.

geocab

This type of situation never occurred to me, not a bad use at all.

JP

It vibrates/notifies you when you’re walking away from the host phone. For a $150 device, it could save you from losing your $700.

Javier Huerta

I spent $60 on the original Smartwatch and it ROCKS, even though it’s an inferior product to the 2.

It keeps me connected – BUT it helps me never to have to check my phone, tablet or PC. e-mail, chat, FB, Twitter? I get a discrete notification. I take a glance, decide it’s not important 90% of the time, nobody notices. My phone doesn’t make a sound and it stays in my pocket. Calendar reminder? I just feel my wrist vibrate and head off to whatever meeting I have. Want to see what time is it? Phone’s in my pocket, again just wake up the watch.

No noise, no interruptions, no need to place my phone on the table / desk. I don’t look rude by answering a phone call I shouldn’t or looking at a mail that is unimportant.

Yes, it’s worth it. A single day of use and I was a convert.

RunnerHere

Put gps on this thing and it would replace my garmin forerunner

Vermin_Cain

Yep! The Samsung watch got destroyed by all the Apple fan boys, disguised as writers, all of them ( The iVerge, iGizmodo, etc…)

Good_Ole_Pinocchio

It got destroyed because it’s a POS

StuckOnVerizonForever

Woopdy fuc*ing dooooook

M0nk

Its not a very good product actually. Less than a day of battery life (for a watch is very bad), only compatible with the Note 3 at the time, etc. This Sony seems like a better product (at least for me). I don´t need a camera on my watch and don´t want to charge the watch 2 times per day…´
Next year Samsung watch will be much better if the curved screen devices photos that leaked are true.

dmagicp

I am torn between this and the toq. I really like the way the toq offers such ease in charging along with the extremely long battery life. However Qualcomm said they will only produce 2000 toq smart watches per year so I worry that there won’t be sufficient support of it. Sonys offering does seem really attractive at this price point though. Can anyone tell me how the smart watch 2 charges? Do you have to plug it in, or does it have wireless charging like the toq?

Ian

It says micro usb compatible, so therefore you plug it in.

Parth

So would you charge this watch?

Good_Ole_Pinocchio

Of course.

Visual360

Safe to order at this place? Thanks.

Ian

One of the top online retailers in the UK. I did a little googling because I was also unsure at first.

Visual360

Thanks. The S&H is a killer though. I Think I’ll wait for Amazon to have it available.

No he edited his comment. It originally said, “or you can go buy one here for $129, at that price it is an impulse buy.” To which I pointed out he was looking at the older model.

RaptorOO7

Yes and I corrected it immediately. Human error does happen. I do find it odd that SONY doesn’t even have their smartwatch 2 on their site just last years model.

fauxshizzl

I found that odd too and assumed that’s why you made the mistake. You would think if it only had one on the website it would be the newest one they are pushing hard to sell.

Jared Denman

Actually that is not a fire sale at all. They run $90 on amazon everyday.

IDLE0095

I already have one. Looks like i beat out a lot of people having it for 2 weeks now.

JRUIV

So how do you like it?

IDLE0095

Coming from the pebble I like it a lot. The pebble was outdated for 2013. Im still trying to find a good app for hangouts, whats app and kik messenger. Other then that its a great replacement for the pebble.

jordanyork

Who did you order yours from? You in the US? I’m itching to get mine ordered but don’t know who to trust online.

IDLE0095

I got mine from ebay.

Godzilla

I don’t want a camera on my watch. I simply want notifications and text messages along with music controls and such. This is a good option.

JoshGroff

Definitely, but if it included a camera for just a little more, I’d certainly be interested in trying it out.

RaptorOO7

I will have to give this a look while I wait for my GG to arrive next week. I would have canceled it, BUT, Verizon would cancel my pre-order for the GN3 as well and I want it on launch day. Still mulling the cancellation and picking it up on launch day.

The Omate TrueSmart looks like a much, much better option. Full Android 4.2.2 3G SIM for independent use, microSD support to 32GB of storage and all the bells and whistles plus nearly double the battery life of the GG.

Open1Your1Eyes0

Just to give you guys a little input, I currently own the original Sony Smartwatch and have been using daily for almost a year now and I absolutely love it. The only gripe I have against the original one is that it is a tad thick when it came out and uses a proprietary pogo-pin cable to charge. But this new one is much thinner and uses a standard microUSB cable for charging and has NFC for pairing on top of that.

With normal use ( turn on and go to work in the morning 7-8am, come back around 7-8pm and turn off since I’m at home) I am able to get 1 week of use and sometimes even a few extra days. There are tons of apps officially on the Play Store and this watch works with ANY Android smartphone. The best part of this watch is it is a companion for your smartphone rather than an entirely separate device which you have to worry about managing on top of your smartphone.

It’s perfect for remote notifications. I’ll use it in like a scenario in a movie theater, it’s dark and quiet and I get a text. I don’t want to take out my phone to check what is the message because my screen is bright and will light up the whole theater (more or less 😛 ). My watch vibrates and I just glance over at it and can determine if it’s something I want to reply to immediately or take care of later. This watch is the perfect device for remote notifications as I rarely have to take out my smartphone anymore just to check missed calls/texts/voicemails/e-mails//time etc… There are even apps that will allow you to control the music playback on your phone and place/answer/reject phone calls as they come in.

I definitely look forward to upgrading to this new model as it only improves on everything I already love on this smartwatch (fast and simple device with an elegant design and perfect companion to my smartphone).

JRUIV

Can I upvote this twice? You have made me want one. I get tons of twitter and ESPN SMS. My Moto X has an active display, but it is leaving much to be desired. Even if I clear away a notification, when the next one comes in I can’t read the whole text without opening the app, very annoying.

1bad69z28

LOL I was thinking the same thing. Open1Your1Eyes0 Your a pretty damn good salesman LOL I thought for a minute that this was a Sony Blog spot I landed on LOL

You had me sold till I looked up and realized I am not at a Sony store or something LOL

I like your passion for this smart watch and will definitely check it out

coolsilver

Looks nice. I like something more than the pebble but a sane price for an accessory. Watches with GSM and such are just overkill for something useful. This seems like it might be, still looking to what google has but this might be a good choice.

David

In all honesty, why not get the Google Smartwatch then?

Good_Ole_Pinocchio

Why not get vaporware?

umbrellacorp

Half Life 3 confirmed!!!!!!!!!!!

jonbedison

Because its not out yet? Do you know when it will be out?

umbrellacorp

hey… i recognize this name. Thanks for helping me root my SGIII. Hope you do just as great work on the Note 3.

mcdonsco

Have you been able to get it to work with exchange email in a standard android email app? I just discovered with the SW2 that this doesn’t work…Seems Sony only supports it with Sony phones…Sounds like Samsung (and a bad idea)…

Mine is going to go back…love it otherwise, but without email notifications for my business email account, it’s worthless.

the truth

i can’t stand smartwatches.

dizel123

I’d consider getting that phone if they moved the decimal one place on the price to the left…no I wouldn’t, nevermind

cancerous_it

I want a smart watch which can work independently of my phone. I want to be able to use it on my runs to track mileage and time and stream or play music. If it can take calls, that’s a plus. I want all of this while not having to lug my phone on that run. Not too much to ask.

JRUIV

I can see the battery size needed being an issue if you want it to make calls

cancerous_it

I agree. But I don’t see the point in having a watch which basically does some of the same things as my phone but is entirely dependent on the phone for connectivity. If I have to lug around my phone then why do I need a duplicate watch?

The first smart watch which allows me to insert my phone SIM card into the smart watch and allow me to leave my phone at home or in the car will get my money.

Of all the tech companies, none of them are trying to set themselves apart by doing this????

that looks..stunning. that quote at the top is pretty damn alluring too.

thats a pretty penny though..

flascrnwrtr

It’s not cheap, but it pretty much dwarfs all the others out there. I like that you can detach it, use the headstrap and it becomes like a GoPro cam. I got the 32GB version. I think it will be perfect for places like Disney or hiking, where you may not want to be carrying your regular phone all day. And 32GB is plenty of storage for music and such. Plus, you can always forward your regular cell to it, so that you don’t have to be giving people 2 different numbers. It hasn’t gotten nearly the press, because it’s not Sony or Google or Samsung. Right now, it is set to be able to use T-Mo or AT&T.

fauxshizzl

That thing looks sweet. I wish just once I could find something like this you could actually buy that day. It is always pre orders and kick starters.

cvgordo

that’s pretty awesome. it has everything i would want but it charges for things i don’t care about..i think i will pass on it for now but it’s pretty intriguing.

RaptorOO7

You should check out the Omate TrueSmart which is capable of standalone use as a 3G GSM phone or as a paired device.

n900mixalot

It’s their THIRD. Not their second. The LiveView was the first, then the SmartWatch, and now the SmartWatch 2.

Come on you guys.

Matthew Dickinson

I was thinking the same thing while I was reading the post, got a LiveView at home. It constantly dropped connection, but I loved the idea behind it. Might actually see about grabbing the SW2.

Thomas Schiferl

Actually, it’s their 3rd take. I own a Sony LiveView.

http://www.droid-life.com Kellex B

Woof, that was back in the day when we were locked into only Verizon DROID phones. Fixed post!

coolsilver

Woof woof!

JRUIV

Intriguing… I like the look of this one more and the commercial for that matter

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